My Neighborhood: Pilsen

Stories from the people who are transforming their community from the inside out.

The History of Pilsen

Pilsen’s early story is one of struggle: recently arrived immigrants struggling to navigate a foreign, often unwelcoming new land; factory workers struggling for a livable wage and an eight-hour day, even in the face of violent suppression; neighbors struggling to make their streets safe, their schools respectable, their air clean enough to breathe, and their homes secure.

It is only in recent years that many of those struggles have borne fruit, and given way to a new struggle: one to maintain the identity and affordability of what has only recently become a profitable destination for developers and investors. Continue history…

Pilsen, Chicago. 1929, U.S. Geological Survey.

Explore Stories

Alderman and Power Broker

Over the course of his long career, 25th Ward Alderman Danny Solis has risen from ragtag community activist to one of the most powerful and senior aldermen in the Chicago City Council. During that time, he’s managed to expertly leverage power and city funds to help transform his ward.

Pastor, Organizer, Change Agent

Father Charles Dahm is a dyed-in-the-wool activist, following in the footsteps of a long line of old-school, firebrand Catholic priests. He’s been pastor or associate pastor at St. Pius V in Pilsen since 1986 and says he has no intention of ever leaving. “I felt, and still feel, totally enriched just living in this neighborhood,” says Dahm.

Jeramey Winfield is a 26-year-old North Lawndale native who was introduced to the concept of restorative justice while in high school. He now facilitates restorative justice in his community as a way to help heal divisions, support residents, and combat the violence that has affected many residents, including his own family.

Benito Juarez Community Academy in Pilsen is more than a public high school. It is a community hub that might not exist today if not for local Latina moms who fought in the mid-1970s against discrimination in Chicago Public Schools and for a school of their own.

Beyond Pilsen: Chicago's Community Leaders

Community leaders are working hard to foster investment and stability in Humboldt Park, cementing and celebrating the neighborhood’s Puerto Rican identity in a way that welcomes visitors and newcomers but also helps long-time, local residents stay and benefit from the increasingly prosperous environment.

Beyond Pilsen: Chicago's Community Leaders

To many outsiders, Englewood is a symbol of Chicago gun violence and disinvestment. Lifelong resident Asiaha Butler, founder of R.A.G.E., has made it her mission to highlight and nurture the positive aspects of her community. In the process, she’s created a wealth of new opportunities and a blueprint for community-led development.

Domestic violence intervention for the Latino immigrant community

Many of the women who seek help from Chicago’s oldest domestic violence organization serving the Latino community have to overcome multiple barriers — including, in recent months, a growing fear of deportation.

In the face of what one activist calls the City of Chicago’s “anemic” effort to protect residents from lead in tap water, Pilsen residents are taking the initiative to inform and equip their neighbors to reduce their risk of exposure.

The City is moving forward with plans to transform the abandoned BNSF railroad into a multi-use “rails-to-trails” path from Pilsen to South Lawndale. But not all residents in Pilsen, where the first phase of the project could kick off this fall, view the initiative as a symbol of positive change.